One Mom's Adventures in Education and Aviation

05/04/2012

Living Through Your Child...in a good way

Flying is not my dream. (I wanted to be a marine biologist)

It is however, my baby's dream

I should have known. I should have ben prepared.

Thinking back I should have realized her kicking wildly in my belly every time the jump plane engines started up was a sign. (I had crazy skydiver friends back then) At around age one she was spotting every aircraft in a hundrd mile radius. We completely skipped the Jay Jay the Jet Plane faze. By four she could quote every scene in Top Gun. We go to at least four airshows a year and try to fly as often as possible.

These are not by dreams, but I am responsible for them. I must encourage her passion and help expand her knowledge. What this means for me is a lot of research and a lot of time. It's work to see someone else's dreams and coming up with new ways of making them a reality.

{Find people learning about the same thing. These are students from Embry Riddle who designed and built this glider. They put her in the cockpit (that had a "please do not touch" sign on it) and spent almost an hour explaining what they had done and offering encouragement to pursue an aviation career.}

{Find people who are doing it for a living. This blackhawk pilot (and the entire crew) pretty much adopted her for the 2 days that we spent at our local airshow. Hours were spent climbing all over that helicopter. My future pilot was quized on her knowledge and taught tons of new stuff. She was able to see one possible future in aviation and to ask as many questions as she could think of.}

{Find someone famous for it. This is Patty Wagstaff (3 time US National Aerobatic Champion). After watching her perform, my baby was able to meet her. After hearing my future pilot's dream, she told her to work hard and be sure to check in with her and let her know how it's going when we come to the airshow next year. It's one thing to encourage your child, it's a whole different thing for them to hear it from someone they admire.}

These are just a few of the things I try to include in our life. On a daily basis, I make math questions about airplanes and let her do writing assignments on the pioneers of aviation. There are movies and books about all kinds of aircraft in our house and we get several monthly aviation magazines. This isn't about forcing her to do this. I just offer as many ways to learn and experiences as possible.

This may not be my dream, but it is my job to foster it. I will continue to live through her until her dream of a career is a reality (or she decides to become a marine biologist).